


Second Chances

by sniperct



Series: Threads of Fate [2]
Category: Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Angst and Humor, Angst/Smut sandwich, Cunnilingus, F/F, Fate & Destiny, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Porn With Plot, Porn with Feelings, Screw Destiny, Shower Sex, Spoilers, This was supposed to just be shower sex but it turned into DISCUSSIONS and EMOTIONS
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:54:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25540927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sniperct/pseuds/sniperct
Summary: After escaping Midgar, Aerith is faced with the terrifying realization that she's free. Free to make her own destiny, free of the burden of fate.Free to take advantage of second chances.
Relationships: Aerith Gainsborough/Tifa Lockhart
Series: Threads of Fate [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1850716
Comments: 18
Kudos: 132





	Second Chances

**Author's Note:**

> Tifa kept complaining about needing a shower?

“Well, this is something,” Tifa said, closing the door behind her and Aerith. Aerith raised her eyebrow and then followed her line of sight.

The gang had been on the road for hours before they’d found this rest stop. The inn was a small one and she and Aerith had gotten a room together while the boys and Red had to share two beds between the three of them. She imagined Barrett or Cloud would end up on the floor.

Evidently, Aerith and Tifa only had _one_ bed to share. Okay, that wasn’t going to be a problem _at all_. She flashed Tifa a winning smile, “As long as you don’t steal the covers I think we’ll be fine.”

“Why do I think you’re the blanket thief?” Tifa planted her hands on her hips, following Aerith with her eyes as she stepped around her and sat down at the bed.

From her vantage point, Aerith had the best possible view of Tifa. Lean muscle, rock solid abs, thighs begging to be nibbled on… She shook herself out of it though her mind had already gone off the rails into, “I do _not_ steal blankets.”

“And honestly,” she added, the corners of her lips turning up. “It’s a bit chilly and we really should share the warmth. Wouldn’t want to freeze to death.”

Tifa stammered something as she sat down in the only chair in the room, a rickety metal and wooden thing that screamed tetanus and splinters and was the exact opposite of sexy.

Aerith gazed at her a moment, before she leaned forward, “So how are you holding up, Tifa?”

“I…” Tifa folded her hands in her lap and stared down at them. “I don’t know. I was going to ask you the same question.”

“Come here.” She looked so pensive that Aerith held out her hand. Tifa stood awkwardly, taking it, then Aerith yanked her over and made her sit next to her on the bed, still holding her hand. “I know getting Cloud and Barrett to talk about their feelings will be like pulling teeth from an angry Behemoth, but we don’t have that problem now do we?”

Tifa smiled lopsidedly, “Probably not that bad. Maybe an angry chocobo.”

Aerith remembered the first time they’d met. It had felt like ages ago but had only really been a few days ago. Before the reactor bombings and Wall Market and the plate, when Tifa had just been a woman Aerith had flirted with and talked into walking her home.

And in that time … So much had changed and neither of them had really had a chance to process. “When I first met you. Remember? In Sector 8?”

“Yeah. You talked me into escorting you.”

“You cooked me dinner.” Aerith giggled. It had been one of the best dinners of her life, and not just because Tifa was an excellent cook. The company had been wonderful.

“I took you home and you kissed me.” Tifa looked down at their hands, very intently, heat on her cheeks and eyes suddenly shining.

Gently, like Tifa was some kind of spooked animal she didn’t want to startle, Aerith put her other hand over their joined ones. “When I first met you, I got the impression that you were a locked heart. That you keep your true self hidden away in order to protect yourself and that you’d already thrown away the key.”

“I--”

“Shh, let me finish.” Aerith smiled at her, eyes crinkling up, “I also had the impression that you’re a _kind_ heart. The way you look after Marlene and the boys. The guilt I know is eating away at you.”

“Sector 7,” Tifa rasped, eyes squeezing shut and expelling a few stray tears.

Aerith nodded. “I keep thinking back to that. And to … the whispers.”

“Sector 7 was supposed to fall, wasn’t it,” Tifa guessed. “They kept pushing things in that direction…”

“Yes.”

“That doesn’t actually make me feel better. We beat them, didn’t we? Why couldn’t we have done that before all those people died? Jesse and the others...So many others.”

“I know.” Aerith lifted Tifa’s hand and kissed her knuckles, “But what it does mean is that even if you’d not played any part, even if AVALANCHE hadn’t existed, something like those events would have still played out.”

Tifa nodded, throat bobbing. “I know I can’t go back and change it. Save the people we hurt, the people we _lost_... but… _but_ here we are, Aerith. We _defied_ fate! Whatever is supposed to happen now might not actually _happen_. But it’s too late for Jessie and Biggs and Wedge and that doesn’t seem fair to me.”

“Fate can be cruel, but it doesn’t always have to be.” Aerith shifted closer and leaned against Tifa, “We found each other, didn’t we? And Cloud and Barret and Red. And there are others out there. I don’t know their names or what they look like, but I know in my heart I’ll recognize them when I see them. I know they’re out there and we’ll find them.”

“Like when you saw me?”

Aerith nodded. “It was _really_ strong the second time, at Wall Market.”

“I felt it too.” Tifa sat up straighter, and wiped at her eyes, “It feels like we’ve always known each other.”

“Yeah, it kind of does.” Aerith’s smile turned tight before she shook off a feeling of impending doom. They’d beaten Destiny into the ground, which meant....

Which meant what she’d seen, what they’d been given glimpses of, might not come to pass. At least not the same way. And there it was, a small kernel of hope of a future she was never supposed to have.

Tifa stood, stretching in that delicious way that always made Aerith’s head spin. “I am going to shower.”

She glanced at Aerith, blushed, and then disappeared into the little adjoining bathroom.

One bed, but they at least had a shower, and considering how much of a workout they’d all undergone, getting clean sounded nice. Hopefully it wasn’t some horror show; Aerith knew how Tifa got with creepy things and ghosts, and it was honestly adorable the way she could punch a monster in the face and yet hide behind Aerith at the mere sight of a phantom.

She listened until she heard the water turn on, digging her fingers into her skirts as she stared straight ahead. Unasked for and unwanted, memories swirled in her mind, memories that weren’t hers and yet they were hers all the same. Bits and pieces, like looking at it through shattered glass. 

And not just the bad things. Right now, listening to the water, she thought about the good. Cloud. Tifa. And she could see herself loving them both. Oh, it would be so _easy_ to love them both and maybe a part of her already did. She’d been instantly attached to them after all, the moment she’d met them. And something tugged at her mind, a thread of fate that might have gone out of reach. But right now, it was Tifa that occupied her thoughts, not Cloud. Tifa who she felt inseparable from. Tifa who was close enough to take a chance on. Tifa who she _wanted_. Tifa who she’d never gotten to...

Aerith stood and followed the sound of running water, determination in her step. She opened the door to the bathroom and stared at the distorted form of Tifa behind the showercurtain, “Second chances.”

“What?!” Tifa jumped and nearly slipped in the tub. “Aerith! Oh gods what?”

“Second chances.” Aerith closed the door, suddenly feeling a lot less confident as Tifa edged enough of the curtain aside to stick her head out.

Water glistened and dripped from her hair and Aerith could see just enough through the curtain for her imagination to take flight. Desire rose in her like an eagle, “Did you ever intend to come back? To my house.” 

“Uhm. What? Oh.” Tifa gripped the edge of the curtain, “I wanted to. I was going to, after the reactor missions. But then… everything happened. And we found each other anyway, didn’t we?”

“That’s too bad, I had so many plans for you.”

Tifa’s mouth opened and then closed, her eyes growing wide.

“Tifa?”

“Sorry I uhm…”

Rolling her eyes, Aerith shrugged her jacket off and then started to unbutton the front of her blouse. “Second chances,” She said, again.

“What … what do you mean by that?” Tifa’s eyes followed the path of Aerith’s fingers, then drank in her skin and the somewhat slinky bra she was wearing underneath it. 

Aerith’s mind flashed back to the tantalizing glimpses she’d gotten of Tifa while they’d changed during the Wall Market situation. And to that purple dress, in general. Gods, it was like Tifa had personally attacked her. Cloud had been _so_ cute, but Tifa? Tifa had been breathtaking, “Second chances to make a future for ourselves. Not just the planet, though the planet of course comes first. But the _after_. After the end, after we win, the afterword of our story. I want to make that happen.”

The rest of her clothing quickly fell to the floor as well, and she stepped up to the tub and pulled the curtain to the side, “Move over, you’re using up all the hot water.”

Tifa’s hands went to Aerith’s waist to steady her as she climbed in, skin slick and warm from the water. Aerith rested her hand on Tifa’s stomach, biting her lip at the hard muscles and smooth skin. The muscles there twitched as Tifa sucked in a breath. “You know … you know I asked you how you were doing and you didn’t answer me.”

“I’m doing fine, thank you.” Aerith bit back a groan when Tifa shifted against her. She was so close, and she smelled amazing and _looked_ amazing and she’d never been naked with anyone before, even Zack, and wondered why she’d waited so long.

“Liar…” Tifa’s hands slid up Aerith’s sides, momentarily leaving her mind blank. 

“Yes,” Aerith breathed, her eyes following the hollow of Tifa’s throat and then settling on her breasts. “I’m sorry. I don’t even know where to begin.”

“I think I know where you want to begin, Aerith,” Tifa said teasingly, though the red on her cheeks wasn’t from the hot water. Her hands began to move again, down Aerith’s sides, up her back and across her shoulders. She cupped her neck, thumb stroking her throat. She cupped her face, thumb stroking her cheek. 

Water cascaded over both of them, shimmering in the light from the ceiling. Aerith’s lip quivered and then quite against her will, she felt herself begin to cry. It wasn’t a heavy cry, just a few sniffles and stray tears before she wrapped her arms around Tifa and buried her face into her shoulder. There was so much there was _too_ much and the last thing she wanted was enough time to really think about what had happened and what was coming. But they had that time now, didn’t they? Even this vulnerable and exposed to each other. Maybe especially because that was so.

But most terrifying of all, she felt _free_.

Tifa’s arms enveloped her, her face nosing into her hair. Her shoulders started to shake and Aerith pressed herself into Tifa, digging her fingers into her upper back as they held each other and cried together.

Aerith turned her head into Tifa’s neck, nuzzling it lightly, then lifted her head. “I’m overwhelmed. Everything feels so _open_ now. Like all expectations are out the window.”

“Yeah, they kind of are.” Tifa wiped at her eyes, then stroked Aerith’s face. “I don’t think this part was supposed to happen.”

“I don’t care.” Aerith peered at her. “Did you ever figure out what lavender roses mean?” 

“You know, I didn’t find that when I looked up the yellow flower.”

“Love at first sight.” Aerith leaned up, pressing her lips to Tifa’s, lightning sparking on her skin as it rubbed against Tifa’s. Tifa let out a little sound, mouth falling open and Aerith took advantage, deepening the kiss and flicking her tongue against Tifa’s as she carefully maneuvered them in the shower, trying to hook her leg around her.

Gods, but Tifa’s skin felt maddeningly good. Aerith rubbed against her like a cat, hands exploring from the neck downward and when they paused on her breasts Tifa laughed into her mouth. 

“What’s so funny?” Aerith pouted, then looked down at Tifa’s breasts, squeezing lightly and flicking her thumbs against hard nipples. Tifa gasped, shivering, the sight and sound bringing a wicked little grin to Aerith’s face. Leaning in, she kissed Tifa’s collarbone, trailing her lips and her tongue along it while she massaged her breasts experimentally. Tifa tilted her head and arched her back, pushing into Aerith’s hands and mouth. 

She squeezed a nipple, pinching it lightly, and Tifa’s reaction nearly made her lose her balance. But Tifa was able to catch her, her hands moving down down down and grabbing her ass. Aerith moaned blissfully.

Replacing her hand with her mouth, she sucked on Tifa’s nipple, playing with it with her tongue and reveling in the sounds coming out of Tifa’s mouth. She wanted more and started to slide down Tifa’s body so she could _have_ more of her.

At least, that’s what she intended. The bottom of the tub was slick from old soap scum and her foot hit a patch that was particularly slippery. Aerith’s feet suddenly slid out from underneath her, her arms flailing as she tried to catch on something. She managed to grab onto the shower curtain which did absolutely _nothing_ to stop her fall. She felt Tifa’s arms around her, strong and protective, and then there was the sensation of both of them falling, twisting around and getting tangled in the shower curtain.

She landed on top of Tifa, cradled in the other woman’s arms so tightly that she barely felt the impact. Then there was silence, except the running water and the pounding heart against her ear. Aerith lifted her head from Tifa’s chest, then pushed herself up a bit more with her left hand. She found that quite difficult with the curtain wrapped around them, “Tifa! Are you all right?”

“Mostly,” Tifa mumbled, running a hand through Aerith’s wet hair and then moving both of them down her back.

“I’m okay too,” Aerith promised. “I don’t think I even got bruised.”

“That would be a crime,” Tifa lay her head back onto the ground and closed her eyes. She held her closer and the full body skin contact was enough to drive Aerith to madness. How either of them were still coherent was a mystery to her, but not one she wanted to solve.

“You’re right!” Aerith cupped both of Tifa’s cheeks and gazed down at her. She knew that _Tifa_ would get a few bruises out of this and she’d just have to kiss it and make it better. “But maybe we should take this to the bed.”

Tifa’s breath caught, eyes snapping open, “You still want to?”

“Of course I do?” Aerith kissed the tip of Tifa’s nose, “We just have to untangle ourselves, that’s all.”

Tifa nodded, eyes blown wide from desire as she stared at Aerith. Then she rolled them, loosening the fabric enough that they could crawl out of the curtain. Aerith shivered as she let Tifa move out first, watching first her chest, then her stomach and pelvis move over her face, too quickly for her to get anything more than a single lick of her thigh in. 

Gods, Tifa was going to be _hers_ and she couldn’t wait.

“Aerith?” Tifa leaned down to help her up, “Are you okay?”

“Mm?” Aerith smiled, “Oh, yes.”

She turned around, feeling Tifa’s eyes on her, and grinned as she leaned over very slowly to turn the water off. In the reflection from the knob she could see where Tifa’s eyes were directed and wriggled her butt playfully. 

Tifa was sagging back against the wall, eyes wide when Aerith turned around. Clucking her tongue, she grabbed Tifa’s hands and pulled her back into the main room and towards the bed. “As a bonus, I think we can spend more time enjoying each other like this instead of trying not to break our necks in the shower.”

“It was still kind of nice.” Tifa’s hands grabbed onto Aerith’s hips, and then she was lifted up into Tifa’s arms. Aerith stared at her for a heartbeat before snuggling in.

“This is nice too…”

Tifa kissed her gently, kneeling on the bed and laying her down on it. They were going to get the sheets soaking wet but that was the last thing on Aerith’s mind right now as Tifa lowered herself onto her body. Her weight was somehow comforting and arousing at the same time. Aerith laughed, “And here I thought I was going to have to do all of the work.”

“If you want to--”

“--no no please proceed.”

Laughing, Tifa kissed her again, fingers tracing patterns in her throat. Aerith grew dizzy, arching under Tifa’s touch as those hands moved down to her breasts, massaging them and stroking them. It felt like she was being worshipped, Tifa’s hands and mouth gliding across her skin in supplication. She sucked in a nipple and Tifa rolled the other gently with her fingers, sending a double spike of pleasure through Aerith’s body. It wasn’t really _enough_ and if Tifa continued to be this gentle, then Aerith would probably cry and this would get _emotional_ and she’d seen enough of her destiny to fear that she’d leave Tifa alone and grieving.

By all that was right, she should never have stepped into that shower, never opened them up to this vulnerability and the chance of shattered hearts.

“Harder,” she hissed, knowing it was too late for the emotions but trying anyway. Tifa groaned, pinching her nipple and grazing her teeth across the other. Aerith arched, gasping Tifa’s name loudly. It was like something snapped in Tifa as she pushed her back down, actually _growling_ as she nuzzled and licked down her stomach.

Aerith felt heady, her head spinning as Tifa settled between her legs. Tifa inhaled a sharp breath as she ran her fingers up and down Aerith’s thighs and drank in the sight of her. “You’re so sexy.”

“Go on,” Aerith replied, breathily and not-as-casually as she’d wanted to. “I’m listening.” 

Smirking, Tifa answered her by nuzzling her right thigh and nibbling the tender skin there. Her breath was super heated and every time Tifa moved her head her hair would brush that same skin and make her body tremble in response.

Tifa flicked her tongue up Aerith’s thigh and then down the other side, skipping the most sensitive of spots and making her whine. She dug her fingers into Tifa’s hair, trying to guide her back, “Tifa baby…”

Looking up at her with burning red eyes, Tifa raised her eyebrows. “What do you want, sweetheart?”

Oh. Oh so that was the game they were playing. Aerith flopped her head back onto the pillow and Tifa kissed her belly button instead. “Tifa _please_!”

Like a bolt, Tifa moved her head back down and trailed her tongue around the edges of Aerith’s folds; first on one side, and then the other. Aerith whined again, rolling her hips and throwing her head back as a slow pressure started to build up inside her.

Aerith lifted her head as Tifa’s tongue grew more insistent, little moans rising from her and her butt wriggling as she squirmed. But she didn’t really have enough time to enjoy the view of Tifa’s wriggling ass before Tifa found the spot she’d been ignoring until now. Pleasure shot through Aerith so suddenly that she had to clap a hand over her mouth to stifle the sound she made. Then Tifa sucked on her clit again, licking it at the same time as she pushed a finger into Aerith.

“Oh, _oh_! Fuck!” Aerith tried to muffle herself again, rolling her hips against Tifa’s face as the other woman began to move her finger in earnest, all without letting up with her mouth on Aerith’s clit. Her stomach tightened but Tifa didn’t slow down, fingering and licking her more fervently even as the orgasm hit her like a behemoth.

Aerith cried out, pulling hard on Tifa’s hair as she stopped caring about being quiet. She was rewarded with a muffled moan and peered down at her lover before yanking hard again. 

Tifa redoubled her efforts when Aerith pulled at her hair, something that she filed away for later before her vision went white. By the time it cleared again, Tifa had slowed, but not quite stopped, gently and lovingly bringing Aerith down from her high as she lapped at her.

Then, slowly, TIfa kissed her way back up Aerith’s body and settled down half on top of her as a silly smile came to Aerith’s lips, “Oh, gods. We’ve really gone off the page haven’t we?”

“That was so … what?” Tifa’s brow furrowed, red eyes dark with lust and something less easy to pin down.

“I’ve never felt so free.” Aerith drew her in, kissing her, folding her arms around her and pressing as closely as possible to her. The freedom that stretched out before her was terrifying, but she also felt as though she could face it. Face whatever came with the fallout from breaking the chains of their destiny.

Aerith had seen her death, in dreams and hazy memories, but now that fate was far less certain. The spark of pain that sometimes formed in her back had faded now, to the realm of nightmares and fear. She prayed, oh she prayed that that fate had been cut off too.

“I think I love you,” Tifa’s breath was warm against her lips.

Laughing, Aerith stroked a finger along her jaw, “Of course you do. Everyone loves me.” 

“Not like this,” Tifa rasped, pushing Aerith onto her back and rolling fully on top of her. There was confidence in her eyes, but still that something else. Uncertainty, perhaps. _Vulnerability_.

Aerith slid her hands up Tifa’s back, feeling the threads of fate fraying away until nothing remained. Nothing but the two of them, bodies pressed together and souls entwined. Aerith grew a little more somber, “No… not like this.”

Tifa buried her face into Aerith’s chest, “None of this was supposed to happen. What if--”

“--Shut up.” Aerith tugged on her hair until she lifted her head, “Shush. Who cares what was _supposed_ to happen? We cut the threads of fate, Tifa. Now it’s on us to make our own fates. And I want this, I want this fate with _you_. Because I think I love you too.”

Jaw tensing, Tifa asked, “Cloud?”

“I wouldn’t say no,” Aerith replied, truthfully. “He wouldn’t be hard to love. But right now I’d like to focus on you.”

Tifa’s jaw relaxed, her expression softening. “We should probably talk about that.”

“Later.” Aerith cupped Tifa’s face, “But we have our threads to sew together, don’t you think?”

“Okay. Okay. Second chances.” Seeming to realize that Aerith had no plans to let her leave the bed any time soon, Tifa’s skin turned red, but the happiness in her smile made Aerith’s heart ache, “We have to leave eventually, you know.”

Second chances, Aerith thought. She had a second chance and she meant to make the most of it. Not just with Tifa or their friends, but for the whole world. But that was a problem for tomorrow her. Right now tonight her had other plans.


End file.
